


Harder To Move On

by porcupinegoldstein



Category: Alien Series, Alien: Covenant
Genre: Alcohol, Angel Walter, Angel falling in love with a human, Angel/Human Relationships, Angst, College, Drug Use, F/M, Fallen Angel, Flashback, Fluff, Grief, Hangover, Weed, alcohol use, drunk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2018-12-04 05:38:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11548614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/porcupinegoldstein/pseuds/porcupinegoldstein
Summary: Daniels loses her husband in a fire and enters into an emotional state. She doesn't answer any messages, and spends her time in a log cabin getting high. That is until Walter is sent to watch over her. An angel to try and get her to move on, and live her life again.She takes him in and allows him to try and help her. However Walter starts developing feelings that he has never had before towards Daniels.Meanwhile another angel that has been on Earth for a while David finds out that his brother has joined him on Earth, and seeks him out.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is something that's been churning in my head for the past couple of days

Her cell phone had run out of battery a day ago and she hadn’t even bothered to plug it in. Hadn’t bothered to check for any messages that she might have missed. The house phone beeped with more voicemails than she could count.

Daniels sat outside the cabin. It was more of a holiday home but, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to leave. Friends had come over to bring her more clothes, food and anything else that she might need.

She sat at the edge of the lake, legs hanging down and feet dangling in the cold water. The only thing that she had bothered to really get for herself was the joint that she was smoking. She remained silent, looking out over the water.

If anyone looked at her that hadn’t known her, they would have thought that she may have been homeless. She wore an oversized, grey hoodie and a beanie. Her cheeks were stained with tears, and she hadn’t worn any makeup in days.

It had been a week since her husband had lost his life. They had been having a get together of sorts with all of their friends. It had been at Oram and Karine’s. It was a slightly small house and some of them had been drinking.

Nobody knew how it had started but, there had been a fire. Everyone had managed to get themselves outside, all except Jacob.

_When Daniels had noticed that everyone else was outside but, her husband was nowhere to be seen, her head whipped around to the house ablaze with ever growing flames._

_“Jake?” her voice quivered slightly and she froze, praying that any second he would appear out of the door and that she could go to him. That they could go back to their cabin by the lake together and that would be it._

_When he didn’t come in a few seconds and the flames grew even larger, she rushed forward to attempt to go and find him but, was held back by more of her friends. She couldn’t see exactly who, she just shouted at them, screaming to be let go so that she could find her husband._

_It happened so quickly, the house was engulfed in flames and soon although none of them knew how it had happened, everything went up in an explosion and Daniels fell to her knees._

_She choked on the sobs, crying out. She knew that there was nothing that they could do. Knew that she had lost him. Everything else around her for a second was silent. She stared forward at the burning wreckage._

_Her eyes that had once held a certain light in them, had died out with the flames. A huge weight pushing down on her chest, and something tugging at her heart._

_She wasn’t sure exactly how long she had been down on her knees when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up towards Karine, face red and tears still coming. Karine knelt down and enveloped her friend in a hug._

_Daniels clung onto her friend tightly, eyes closing and her face scrunching up as she let out violent sobs and shook. Karine wasn’t entirely sure what she could even say to the other woman, she held onto her as sirens blared, getting closer and closer._

_The fire service was accompanied by a police car and an ambulance. After general checks of each of them, the doctors had brought Daniels to sit, a shock blanket covering her shoulders. She held a steaming mug of tea that they thought would calm her down a little._

_She stared ahead though, letting the mug burn her palms. She hadn’t even noticed just how hot it was. She felt numb, and void. Everyone else had gone home. All except Tennessee who wanted to make sure that Daniels got back safely._

_Once the services had all left and the fire had been put out. Tennessee pulled Daniels away from where they were searching for the body in the wreckage. He called them both a taxi and looked towards his friend who hadn’t said a word._

_“Back home Dani?” Tennessee asked her._

_“No. No, I want to go to the cabin,” she answered, voice small and shaky. It had been where her and Jake had been staying for the past couple of weeks. They had built the place together, and it meant a lot to both of them. It was the one place that she wanted to go more than anywhere._

_The drive was silent, Tennessee paid for Daniels’ fare and said a quick goodbye to her. She had asked to be alone, and headed into the cabin._

_Once she was alone, she stepped inside and made her way over to the tablet that lay on the little coffee table. Picking it up, she typed in her password and went through the videos in the gallery. A small smile etched onto her face when she found what she was looking for._

_She hit play and was greeted with a video that Jacob had filmed for her when he had gone climbing. The two of them always did do a lot of outdoor activities together. Rock climbing, skiing, hiking, they were quite active in everything._

_She smiled to herself with a sniffle as she wiped her eyes, looking through more photos of them both. A few selfies that they had just taken because they were feeling particularly couple like. A couple with a stupid snapchat filter on so that they both had dog features. There were some that she had taken which he hadn’t wanted to be a part of, so they had a contrast of her grinning and him looking off to the side with a frown._

 

Daniels looked up to the cabin now, and sighed. She knew that she was going to have to face going in there again. Spend another night alone. She didn’t want to spend it alone but, there wasn’t anything else that she could do.

Her eyes were distracted though by something falling from the sky. She frowned and looked towards it. It didn’t look like a shooting star, though it didn’t look like a meteor or anything similar either.

With one look towards the cabin and one look towards where whatever it was had landed, she made her way over towards where it had landed. It wasn’t too far away. A five-minute walk in the middle of a wheat field.

What she hadn’t been expecting was to find a man, in the middle of the wheat, completely nude and with almost a glow around him. He had dark hair and a kind looking face, even while unconscious. Daniels frowned slightly and was taken aback. She hadn’t expected this at all.

She stepped forward, wanting to at least help the man. Perhaps he was drunk. Biting her lip slightly she coughed to try and rouse him from his sleep. Her eyes fixed on his face. She didn’t want to humiliate the poor man.

He woke suddenly and stood up, facing Daniels. He seemed to have no trouble at all that he had no clothes on.  He observed her for a second, noting her puffy eyes and her clothing.  Maybe she was high and she was seeing things.

“Daniels Branson,” the man spoke and looked straight at her. She was slightly taken aback by that. She had never met this man before and yet he seemed to know her name.

“Yes?” she found herself answering but, made sure to keep her eyes fixed on him.

“I’ve been sent down to watch over you. My name’s Walter,” he extended his hand out for her to shake.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniels and Walter spend a little more time together. Daniels learns more about Walter and he makes some observations about her as well.   
> She hasn't yet told him why she's upset, or why she's emotional and he doesn't force her into telling him anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wanted to have a little bit of awkardness, and learning about each other. This is most likely going to be slow burn. Since Daniels is going through some emotional experiences.

Daniels took Walter back to the cabin. She knew that she was going to have to find him some clothes but, she wasn’t sure exactly how she felt about giving someone else Jacob’s clothes. Still, she didn’t want anyone to come over and just spy Walter in the nude.

She ventured into the bedroom finding some clothes at the back of the wardrobe that Jacob had hardly worn. If she was going to have Walter wear something, then she wanted something that her husband hadn’t worn a lot. Less reminders.

She walked back out where Walter stood in the kitchen, she watched him for a few seconds as he observed little things here and there. She still had no idea how he knew her name, where he came from or anything else about him.

“You should put these on if you want to fit in,” she told him and held out the pile of clothes. It had just been a simple grey sweater and some black bottoms.

“Fit in? With other human beings, you mean?” Walter questioned and tilted his head slightly to the side, watching the woman in front of him.

“Yes,” she nodded and Walter took the clothes from her and got dressed. They were slightly baggy, Walter being skinnier than Jacob, so they didn’t fit very well. Daniels was gone for a second before coming back with a belt for him.

“Your facial expressions and body language seem to imply that you are confused about something. Is there something that I can help with Daniels?” Walter asked, as if nothing was strange about their meeting at all.

“Confused?” Daniels let out a breathy laugh. It had been the first laugh that had come out of her since she had lost Jake. “Where did you come from? You look so… human and yet you talk like you’re from somewhere else?”

“I thought that was rather obvious,” Walter blinked and looked towards her, taking in her shrug and even more confused expression. “I’m an angel. Yes, we exist. I understand that humans have different belief systems and that some have no belief at all. However, no group has ever been fully accurate,” he explained and Daniels raised an eyebrow slightly.

She never had been religious. Never really had believed in anything. She just thought that once you were dead that you were dead forever. You didn’t come back in any shape or form.

“And you’re dead?” she looked towards him and he simply shook his head.

“I am neither living nor dead. I never lived on Earth,” he told her. “We know not what happens to the people who die. They do not become angels.”

“Oh,” Daniels looked down. Even if she hadn’t believed in any sort of afterlife, it would have been nice to have heard that her husband was okay.

Walter watched her for a second noticing that she looked forlorn and stepped forward. He wasn’t entirely sure how to replicate comfort just yet, but he did reach out to put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up towards him. His face was kind, a hint of caring in his steel blue eyes.

“You’re upset. You’ve recently lost someone. Am I correct?” Walter asked her and observed her for a few seconds and she tried to work out exactly what she could say. “Judging by the oversized sweater, the puffy eyes and the smell of cannabis, those are all signs that you are going through a form of upset.”

“You’re not wrong,” Daniels sighed and leant against the kitchen counter. She hadn’t really spoken about Jacob’s death with anyone, didn’t really want to. She felt more tears come rushing to her, and she shook her head. She couldn’t say it. Couldn’t talk about it in front of a stranger. “I don’t want to talk about any of it right now Walter.”

“I see. You’re still grieving. Still need that time to yourself before you can talk to someone else about it all,” he commented and watched her.

Daniels managed to hold it together, letting out a shaky sigh and wiping her eyes. She looked towards Walter and bit her lip. She did want to learn some more about him if she could, but wasn’t completely sure how she could.

Before she could ask anything though, she found herself yawning. She was certainly coming down from her high, and Walter could tell. He looked towards her and saw her eyelids drooping slightly, and her slow blinks.

“Perhaps you ought to sleep Daniels. It is quite late after all,” Walter offered and Daniels just shook her head.

She never liked sleeping much these days. Sleep meant that her brain would replay memories of the fire. Memories of Jacob. Things that she didn’t want to go back to. However, Walter seemed to think differently.

“It is quite unhealthy for a human to exceed the healthy amount of time to stay awake. Your body must rest to be energised for the next day,” he informed her and she raised an eyebrow. It was almost like talking to Siri.

“Sleep isn’t always so peaceful,” she commented and Walter tilted his head to the side at that. Almost as if he were a puppy that had heard a strange noise for the first time.

“You suffer from nightmares? And you don’t sleep very well, that’s why you have dark circles under your eyes,” Walter answered and Daniels brought a hand up to her eyes, a little self-conscious now about it.

“Perhaps I can help,” he added and Daniels bit her lip slightly. She sighed and retreated to the bedroom where she changed into some pyjamas and climbed into the bed. She stared over at the window facing the lake and sighed.

Walter entered a few seconds later with a flute in his hand. He came to stand by Daniels’ bed and looked down to her for a minute.

“With your permission, I would like to play you a lullaby. I have heard that it helps humans get to sleep easier. Particularly when they are upset or stressed,” he told her and looked towards the instrument in his hand.

“Yes, you have permission Walter,” Daniels agreed sleepily. She didn’t even want to tell him that lullabies were mostly meant for babies and infants. He seemed so willing to help her, she didn’t want to deny him of anything.

As Walter began to play a melodic tune, Daniels let her eyes slip closed. She let the tune play in her head before falling into a deep sleep. Something that hadn’t happened for a while.

When Walter was sure that she was fully asleep and that she wasn’t going to wake, he watched her for a few seconds, reaching out to brush a stray, strand of hair away from her forehead. He let a smile etch onto his face as he did so, happy that he had managed to already take care of her in some respects. Even if it was the little things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm taking elements from the film and the novelisation. Let me know what you think? Is Walter too inhuman?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Walter finally finds out that Jacob has died, and asks Daniels about it all. Karine finds out what's happening and finds out that Walter is in the cabin with Daniels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kept procrastinating this. Sorry. No David yet. He'll turn up in time, don't you worry. I wanted to focus this more on Daniels confessing things to Walter.

When Daniels woke up, her nostrils got filled with the smell of eggs and bacon. She sat up, a little confused, forgetting for a second about Walter. Her head automatically told her that Jacob was just in the kitchen, cooking her some breakfast. Then it hit her. Then she remembered and the pain came flooding back.

She pulled herself out of bed and stepped out into the little kitchen, leaning against the kitchen island as she observed Walter for a second. She raised a slight eyebrow and he turned, placing a plate in front of her.

“Humans eat a morning meal every day to my understanding. I had to try and find something acceptable in your fridge. You don’t have a lot of food here Daniels. That can be quite concerning,” Walter noted and watched her.

Daniels, who’s stomach was growling furiously tucked right in to her breakfast and stood up to make herself a coffee once her plate was empty. She used Jacob’s favourite mug. A black one with a little image of a science joke. A gift that Daniels had given him when they first started dating.

She went back to sit down and Walter sat opposite to her. She looked down into the steaming mug of coffee for a few seconds before meeting the angel’s gaze. For a second, they had a moment of silence.

Until there was a knock at the door.

Daniels shook her head slightly and hopped down from her chair, walking towards the door. She opened it slowly and was pleasantly surprised to see Karine standing there with a bag of food, and a bag of clean clothes.

“Dani. I’ve brought you some food and some more clothes. Have you got anything that would need…”

The other woman stopped for a second and inhaled. She could obviously smell the breakfast that Walter had just made and grown suspicious. She walked past Daniels, and poked her head into the kitchen, spotting Walter who had his back to her.

She quickly turned back to Daniels and frowned.

“What the fuck Dani? Who is that guy?”

“He said he was an angel…” Daniels started but, knew how ridiculous that sounded. “He kind of crash landed in the wheat field last night and I took him in. I thought that he might just be lost or something.”

“Tell me the truth. Were you high when you did this?”

“Yes but, that’s not the point!”

“Dani, you can’t invite some random man into your house. I get that you’re not over what happened to Jacob but, don’t sleep with a guy just because he’s handsome!”

“I didn’t sleep with him. I invited him in and spoke for a little bit and then I went to bed. Nothing weird happened.”

“Shit, you actually got a good night’s sleep, didn’t you?” Karine looked toward Daniels, taking a note of the fact that her eyes weren’t as dark as usual. “Just be careful please. You don’t know if this guy is a murderer or something, I don’t want to see you dead.”

“Is it such a bad thing?” Daniels spoke before she could think. She visibly winced slightly at the comment and looked up towards Karine again with an apologetic look. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that. I’ll call you if I need anything or if I get in trouble. Promise.”

“You better,” Karine pulled her friend into a quick hug and handed over the food and clothes before leaving once again.

Daniels stood for a second and watched her friend leave before closing the door, and going to put the different foods in various cupboards and the fridge, and putting her new clean clothes in the wardrobe before getting dressed, pulling on one of Jacob’s hoodies once again.

 

Walter had been looking in the living area, at some of the framed photographs. There were a few group pictures of the group of friends, from them at college until recently. Many of the photos featured Daniels and a bearded man that looked her age.

In one photo, it looked like a wedding picture. Walter got drawn to the attention of a picture where the man was dressed in what looked like climbing gear, standing with Daniels with an arm around her.

“That was the last photo we took together that we got printed,” Daniels spoke, coming to stand next to Walter. “We have other photos but, that was the last one we had printed. Most of our photos are all saved onto my tablet,” she explained.

“Who was he?” Walter looked towards her, picking up on the sadness in her voice. “He was your husband? You’re in a picture with him and in wedding attire.”

“Yeah. He was my husband,” Daniels nodded. Saying it past tense was the thing that hurt the most. “Jacob. Jake for short,” she told him.

“What happened to him?”

“He died. There was a fire and an explosion. Jake got involved and he didn’t make it,” she explained simply and looked towards her feet. “We built this place together. He always wanted to build a cabin by the lake,” she sniffed and let out a shaky sigh, a tear rolling down her cheek.

“And you sometimes wonder why you should carry on?”

Daniels looked up to him at those words. She had been flooded with many different thoughts that everything was too much to carry on. She had kept herself busy, gotten high, had some alcohol. Everything that would keep her mind off of Jacob.

“You should carry on because it’s what he would have wanted. You should carry on and keep this cabin by the lake as a promise,” Walter explained softly. For an angel, he really did know what to say to her.

“Thank you, Walter.”

“Could you tell me how you met Jacob?” Walter went to sit down, and Daniels followed. She let her gaze fall to the floor again and simply nodded. With a little sigh, she nodded and looked up to Walter again before launching into the story.

 

_It was 2am, and Daniels was just about done with sorting out all the books in her new bookshelf. She had only just moved into the college dorm, and hadn’t had a chance to meet any of the other students in her dormitory hall yet._

_They had all arrived in the day, and Daniels had shown up in the evening when all of them seemed to have gone out drinking or secluded themselves in their rooms. Luckily Daniels had a room to herself, unlike some of the others who were being forced to share._

_She finally put the last book on her shelf and stood back to admire her work when her door opened and a very, drunk boy stumbled into her room._

_The boy; Jacob, looked up at his eyes landed on Daniels._

_“How did a pretty girl get in my dorm room?” he slurred and smiled at her with an attempted wink but, ended up just blinking instead._

_“This isn’t your dorm room,” Daniels laughed and rolled her eyes slightly. “Come on, come sit down,” she moved over to him and took his arm, bringing him down to sit on her bed._

_“It ain’t mine? I could have sworn that this one was mine. Wait…no bunkbend. I share a dorm,” he explained to Daniels in his intoxicated state._

_“I think you mean bunkbed. Hold on,” Daniels leant over towards her desk and grabbed a bottle of water, handing it to Jacob. “Drink this. It’ll help with the hangover in the morning.”_

_“Bunkbed. Yes. I have one of them. I share with uh- him. I can’t remember his name,” Jacob shook his head and looked towards the water bottle that Daniels had offered. “Water is for cheaters.”_

_“It’s vodka,” Daniels lied which had Jacob immediately take the bottle and pretty much down it all. He handed her back the empty bottle and looked towards her again._

_“You-you’re pretty, pretty. I’m Jacob.”_

_“Are you sure that’s your name?” Daniels laughed slightly and shook her head. “I’m Daniels. Most people call me Dani,” she answered him and couldn’t help but, roll her eyes when his head flopped and landed on her shoulder._

_“Dani. That’s a pretty name. Do you think that we’re on the same class course thing?”_

_“Well, they tend to put people in the same class in the same dorm room,” she nodded at him. “So, I expect that we will be in the same class.”_

_“Good because you’re sitting next to me. Can’t let any other guys talk to the pretty girls,” Jacob smiled to himself._

_“Okay. I’ll sit next to you I promise,” she couldn’t help but, smile. He soon fell asleep after that and Daniels just smiled and arranged him to lie on her bed, removing his shoes and covering him in the blanket the college had provided._

_For herself, she settled on the floor with her own blanket from home and a few pillows that she had brought with her as well._

_She woke up in a little confusion. It was confusing enough that she was waking up in a college dorm, it was even stranger when she had to wake up on the floor. She sat up and the memories of the night before came into her head._

_She looked towards her bed at the sleeping Jacob and she couldn’t help but, smile. She had to admit that he was kind of cute. She certainly didn’t mind having a good-looking guy sleeping in her bed anyway._

_Jacob stirred slightly and opened his eyes. He sat up and looked around, before groaning and putting his head in his hands. He had a hangover. That was for sure. It took a few seconds before he met Dani’s gaze._

_“Shit. I kicked you out of your own bed. Sorry. That wasn’t the first impression that I wanted to make,” he shook his head slightly and ran a hand through his messy hair._

_“It’s okay. You needed it more than I did. Jacob, right?” she raised an eyebrow and stood up to come and sit next to him again._

_“Yep. I wasn’t lying about my name. Thank you for the water,” he smiled at her. “Come to think of it… I didn’t see you out while out drinking last night. Were you hauled up in here?”_

_“I arrived late. Everyone was already gone by the time that I started unpacking so I didn’t come out and join you all. Looks like you all had fun though. Is half the class going to be completely hungover in today’s 9AM?” she laughed with a raised eyebrow._

_“We’ve got a 9AM? Shit. I better go get ready,” he got up and headed towards the door but, before he could go for good, he stuck his head back around the open door. “By the way, you better not break your promise about sitting next to me,” he gave her a quick wink and was gone again soon after._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would anyone like a few more flashbacks of Daniels and Jacob? The idea of telling him that the water was vodka came from when me and friends have to tell our friend that the water we're giving her is vodka.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Walter comforts a Daniels who gets into a state of upset after he finds some of her antidepressants. Daniels sits and reminisces about another memory that she shared with Jacob.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're still just in the comfort stage at the moment. Grief works like that , so still no David at the moment. He will come in some later chapters though. I just want to spend as much time with Walter and Daniels as possible before I introduce David into the picture.

Daniels didn’t talk a lot for the rest of the day. Walter watched her for a while, as she mostly sat outside again. She let herself look out at the lake and for once, she didn’t get high. For once she just looked out at the water and let the little memory of her and Jacob’s first meeting come back to her. She never had forgotten their first meeting, and they would often tease each other about it. Make sure that they wouldn’t forget any of it.

She eventually came back inside and sat down on the small sofa, still not speaking. Walter had made her some food, putting it down on the little coffee table before walking over to one of the drawers. Daniels didn’t mind so much that he looked through some things. She didn’t even notice half of the time. It did seem strange though, having someone else in the cabin. Someone that wasn’t Jacob. Still, she knew that if Walter hadn’t turned up then she would most likely just stay inside, get high or drink alcohol and then not even eat anything. She was grateful that Walter had been there to make sure that she still ate.

Her eyes travelled around the cabin and she noticed just how messy it was in there. Books were scattered everywhere, bits of paper just lying around. The only things that Daniels really kept charged up was her tablet. Her phone still lay uncharged. She couldn’t face the mass amount of texts and missed calls from her friends and parents.

Walter had done some tidying up. Picking up all the different books and placing them back into the bookcase. He had put them in an order, alphabetical by author and made sure to just observe the bookshelf. He was grateful for Daniels telling him about her and Jacob met. Liked to know more about why he was there. He had known that she was grieving but, now that he knew who it was she was grieving, it put things into perspective for him.

He knew that it would be hard for Daniels to move on from this. He knew that she wasn’t going to come to terms with her husband’s death very easily. He hadn’t asked if there had been a funeral, didn’t think that the time was right yet. He didn’t want to cause further upset to the woman, who could have easily turned him away.

When the angel had finished with arranging the books he looked back towards the woman who had started to eat his meal. He smiled to himself, glad that she actually did eat what he had made her. He hated having to think that she wasn’t going to eat anything. Didn’t want to even think for a second that she wasn’t going to eat.

Daniels looked towards the fireplace that hadn’t been lit in a long time. She couldn’t help but, smile to herself when she remembered just how the fireplace had ended up going there instead of anywhere else in the cabin.

 

_Daniels had been sleeping soundly. Until she felt lips against her lips, and she blinked her eyes open until everything came into focus and she saw Jacob sat up in the bed next to her, tablet in hand. Letting out a small sigh, she moved so she was half sitting up, leaning against her husband who put an arm around her so she could snuggle in._

_“I’ve been making some modifications,” Jacob told her and held out the tablet for her to see the diagram of the log cabin they had planned to build. She looked up at him a little confused and frowned slightly. It was far too early for her to be seeing any of this._

_“See I thought that we could move the chimney from the East to the West. It just makes a lot more sense to me. See, there’s better insulation in the West side than the East,” he explained and looked towards his wife._

_“You woke me up for that?” Daniels murmured and sunk back down into the pillows, with which Jacob decided was the perfect position to cover her in the pillows completely, making her giggle up at him._

_“Not just for that. I made you coffee too,” Jacob smiled down at her, trapping her between his arms and she grinned. Even if she didn’t cope too well in the early mornings, she always loved waking up next to him._

_She moved some of the pillows, whacking him in the face with one for disturbing her sleep before, getting herself out of bed. She went to grab one of his hoodies to pull over her top half, so that she was wearing only his hoodie and her underwear and walked out into the kitchen. Even if she loved Jacob, he could never make a coffee in the way that she liked._

_She poured herself up a coffee in the way that she liked, and smiled when she felt two arms come and wrap around her middle, and a pair of lips kissing her neck with some light stubble scratching against the soft skin._

_“We’re almost there Dani. Almost have our log cabin. We have the perfect place for it, so all that we need to do is start building and I’m sure that we’ll be able to have some time where we can live in it as well.”_

_Daniels smiled and turned so that she was facing her husband, coffee mug in hand and a little smirk on her face. She was still slightly sleepy from being woken up so early to look at where a chimney was going to be placed._

_“I look forward to it. I know that it’s going to be truly perfect,” she grinned at him and finished her coffee off, putting the mug on the side before leaning up to kiss her husband gently. They had many different mornings like this, early mornings with little kisses that tasted like coffee and sometime where they could just sit together._

_She sat and listened to more of his talks on improvements that they could make to the cabin. She watched as he enthusiastically pointed out different areas and what could go where, the little decorations that they could use and just about everything else. He just seemed to love his log cabin, and Daniels loved him, truly and completely._

“Daniels,” Walter’s voice took her out of the memory and she looked up towards him, blinking once to let the reality sink back in. She shook her head a little and then looked to what Walter was holding up, a small pallet of pills.

“Yes Walter?”

“Are you not meant to be taking these regularly? It is under my knowledge that they are anti-depressants. They’re supposed to make you feel better are they not?” he questioned and came over to her.

“I am but, I don’t like them all that much. They make me tired all the time, and they make me feel sick,” she mentioned and let her gaze move back down to the floor. “I don’t want to take them. I don’t see why I have to.”

“Because you have been put through a traumatic experience and they are there to help you with those feelings of sadness.”

“I don’t think any number of pills can help with that Walter. It doesn’t’ matter how many that I take, it never makes me feel much better. I always have those feelings. It doesn’t matter,” she answered him, and looked away. She bit down on her tongue and held back the tears.

“I try to cope with it all in my way Walter. I get high, I drink, I do anything that might make me numb. I do everything that might cause me to just not feel anything. Those pills don’t help!” she let out a shaky sigh and ran a hand through her hair.

“Forgive me Daniels. I did not mean to cause any sort of upset with you,” he told her and put the pills back where he had found them. He walked towards her and sat down beside her as she let some tears fall onto her plate.

"Sometimes I don’t even know if it’s all worth it. Jacob meant everything to me and now he’s gone,” she put the plate back down on the coffee table and brought her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them. “I’m in a constant state of nothing. I just don’t know- I don’t know what’s real. Every day I keep thinking that Jacob is going to walk through the door.”

She let some tears fall more, and put her head on her knees, crying to herself and shaking slightly. Walter observed her for a few seconds before, moving to put an arm around her and bring her closer to him.

“Daniels. What you have to do is remember all the times you shared. You’ve got to remember how much Jacob cared and how much he loved you,” Walter pointed out and rubbed her back as she sobbed into his chest.

“I just feel so alone,” she choked on her tears and clutched at the fabric of his shirt.

“You are never alone. There are people out there who love you. Your friends, your family. You are surrounded by more love than you know. You’re still young Daniels. Don’t let this haunt you forever. It will take time but, that’s why I am here. I’m here to help you through it all.”

Daniels nodded slowly and bit down on her lip. She tried to stop the tears but, somehow it wasn’t working too well.

“In the first couple of days I wrote him letters. I’ll never get to send them, and he’ll never get to see them. I just think that he’s going to call, I think that he’s going to be coming and then other people just tell me that it’s all in my head. I can’t accept it though. I don’t want to accept it.”

“Nobody wants to accept it,” Walter brought her head up so that he could look her in the face. “Nobody would want to accept it, and it is tragic that you had to lose someone so important to you before you should have.”

“I just had so much planned,” Daniels muttered and sniffed. “Jacob was gonna go and join one of the missions to Mars. I would stay at home, and maybe work at the control centre. We were going to have kids. I had prepared so much. Jacob was my person.”

“What can you do now?” Walter asked softly.

“I don’t know. Something different?” she shrugged a little. “I missed my place to work at control centre. Missed being able to do that, but I don’t know, maybe I can get to do something else soon. I would hope so.”

“Then aim to do that. Aim for a goal that you might be able to reach,” Walter advised and squeezed her shoulder. “I’m sure that you will be able to reach it and you will have those friends there to help you as well.”

“Thank you, Walter.”

Daniels stood and picked up her plate, taking it over to the sink and went to wash up. She didn’t want to speak any more about Jacob that day. Didn’t want to go back to having those memories come back to haunt her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am loving the flashback sequences! I honestly adore writing Jacob as a character so much. I know we only got to see him properly in the Last Supper prologue short, so I am kind of making him my own character, but trying to make it believeable as someone that Daniels would marry, and take things from what I've observed in the prologue and in the short little video that Daniels watches of him in the film.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More recovery and more of Walter comforting Daniels.

She still wasn’t taking the anti-depressants and Walter never pushed her to do so either. He would leave them by the side in hopes that she might take them one day. She never did though. The only thing that was getting better was that she was sleeping better. She wasn’t drinking as much and she wasn’t getting high all the time. Walter saw that as an improvement.

He observed some of the boxes in the corner of the room and frowned slightly. He wasn’t sure how he had never noticed them before and walked slowly over to them. He knew that he shouldn’t really snoop through Daniels’ things but, he was curious.

Reaching out to one of the boxes, he hadn’t even noticed that Daniels was standing in the doorway watching him.

“Walter?” she spoke softly and he stopped his reaching hand before turning to look towards the young woman. She was wearing a hoodie again. One of Jacob’s. That much he could tell. He wondered if she would ever grow out of that.

“Daniels. I was curious about what’s inside the boxes. I apologise if I stepped over a line or anything similar,” he spoke sincerely and then turned his gaze away from the boxes and towards Daniels once again.

She was silent for a beat and stepped forward, lifting the top box from the pile and opened it, kneeling down. She was greeted with an assortment of items, some books- all of them related to space and the atmosphere and some even NASA related. There were some frames here and there that contained a few group pictures, all of which contained Daniels. Most of it was academic things and Daniels stared down at it for a while. It had been things that her and Jacob hadn’t unpacked.

“It’s just some things from college. The only thing that we really took out of the boxes were our hoddies that we both got,” she explained softly and sniffled a little. “We have them specially made, me and all of the friends we had. Each class had a large group of students who all had to have a team name and we would work together,” she looked up towards Walter who was just watching her.

She brought out a picture with a large group of people, all wearing dark blue hoodies with the word ‘Covenant’ printed across their chests. Everyone in the picture looked so happy, Daniels was lit up and full of light, a grin on her face as she looked straight to the camera. The man beside her-Jacob- wasn’t looking at the camera at all. Instead he had his eyes on her with a fond smile gracing his features. His arm was around her waist and he looked so happy.

Daniels looked towards it for a long time, something between a smile and a frown crawling onto her face. Her eyes were watering again and before she could even stop them, some tears splashed onto the glass protecting the memory.

“These are your friends?” Walter asked and came to sit beside her, breaking the silence. All that he got in response from her was a nod as she kept her eyes fixed on the photo.

It was strange how many feelings a photo could provoke. Daniels couldn’t help but, frown slightly though when she realised that some pictures that she knew existed were missing from the first box. She tore open the second box and rifled through it all when she found something that she had never seen before.

Daniels pulled out a brown leather book with a dark blue ribbon around it. She undid the ribbon and opened the book, letting her eyes land on the first page, a little faded and with some coffee stains marking it. In the middle of the page, were dark letters in Jacob’s handwriting.

_Dani,_

_If you’ve found this before I actually give it to you then you are snooping, and you shall not read any further. It is clearly an unfinished project. If I have given it to you then, go ahead and look through it all._

_I was gonna give this to you for our 10 th Anniversary so I hope that we’re still together. I love you and I know that love is never gonna run out. No matter how indecisive you believe that I am. I love you more than anything. _

_Anyway, go forth and look back on the memories that we have shared. I couldn’t include every single photo but, it’s our life. Who knows? Maybe there’ll be a life that we might have created somewhere in this book too._

_All my love,_

_Your Jacob_

 

She stared at the page for a few seconds, the coffee stains being accompanied by her own tears. He had thought about children in the future, their ten-year anniversary. She bit her lip slightly and with a trembling hand, she turned the page and was greeted with the first picture that they took together.

He had written a caption about it being their first picture, and their first date. One that he had been so convinced that they would be together forever on. She had been completely taken with his confidence and they had seen each other every day for a week since.

The pictures didn’t seem to stop. There were a few pictures of them at festivals, glitter on their face and everything. Pictures of them with drinks in their hands, wearing shorts and sunglasses on. There were pictures of the group of friends together, laughing, at the beach, at parties, in class and a couple when they had all gone out for meals.

There were more pictures of Daniels and Jacob together, one of them had them at Disneyland, both of them were wearing a pair of ears, Daniels had Minnie Mouse ears and Jacob had Mickey ears. She knew that there was a whole other photo album full of their Disney adventure. There was a picture of their wedding, of them kissing at sunset by the lake. The last photo that she turned to was one where they were standing outside the finished Log Cabin with their arms around each other and smiles on their faces.

She closed the book after a couple of seconds and held it close to her. She wasn’t sure if she would ever leave the stage of grieving, didn’t think that she would ever be able to move on. Though she had to suppose that she was never going to get Jacob back. She bit her lip and let out a slight sigh before looking towards Walter.

“He’s never coming, back is he?” she whispered softly and broke into a fresh wave of tears, throwing her arms around Walter and holding onto him tightly. “I know that. I know that I can’t have him back. I know that Jacob is gone,” she sobbed into his shoulder.

“That’s a good development Daniels,” Walter told her and hugged her before he could even think of it. “Accepting and knowing that he can’t come back is a step forward in this. You’re doing well, I know that you are,” he assured her and offered another smile.

She held onto him tightly and didn’t stop crying for an hour. Holding on to his arms that were holding her close, and staining his shirt in salty tears. When she finally stopped, her grip loosened slightly and she just let out shaky breaths, before pulling back and looking towards him.

“It takes a different amount of time for everyone to safely recover, and even after that there might still be some moments when you are upset,” Walter told her and she just nodded, playing with the cuffs of her sleeves.

“When will you leave?” Daniels looked towards him, a slight ounce of fear in her voice. Fear of being left alone again.

“When you have fully recovered,” Walter answered and gave one slight nod. “I cannot stay forever, it’s against my code of conduct.”

“Angels have a code?”

“We must leave once our job is over, we must never kill and we cannot fall in love,” Walter told her, reciting it as if it was ingrained into his brain.

“Are you capable of love?”

“I have yet to experience the feeling, I don’t know what it would be like. If we do fall in love however, we cannot act upon those feelings,” he told her and offered a slight smile. “You have nothing to worry about Daniels. When you have recovered, you won’t need me anymore,” he answered and stood up.

Daniels looked up towards him and just watched for a while. Now that he was part of her life she couldn’t imagine him not being there, couldn’t imagine not needing him. She sometimes forgot that he was an angel, viewed him as a friend and nothing less.

Though, perhaps sometimes when she slept, she did view him as something more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> David still isn't in yet. He might be there soon though. Maybe in the next chapter? I know how he's going to come into it all anyway. Leave any kudos or comments, it makes my day and it motivates me to write some more chapters of it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniels gets very drunk and Walter has to look after her. They are also met with a very unexpected visitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick trigger warning for alcohol use and being sick. It's not very graphic though, so don't worry too much about it. Just thought that I should warn you before you read on.

Walter had walked into the cabin, into what looked like a chaotic cave, that smelt of alcohol and sounded like something that a teenager going through a grunge phrase would listen to. Daniels had been left alone for most of the day, and it seemed that she had spent the day, getting drunk and listening to loud rock music.

There was a lot of empty bottles littering the surfaces, and a very disoriented Daniels in the middle of the room with half a bottle of vodka in her hand, dancing with absolutely no grace or control in her movements at all.

“Daniels?” Walter spoke out of concern but, she hadn’t seemed to hear him as, all that she did was dance and drink from the bottle in her hand. He stepped over some of the empty bottles and turned the music down so that he caught the woman’s attention.

She frowned at him for a second before putting the bottle down and reaching out to take both of his hands and pull him towards her, all while in her drunken state. It had been a long time since she had gotten this drunk. Normally she would have just gotten high instead but, she wasn’t sure what it was that made her want to drink.

“Walter! Dance with me, turn the music up and dance with me!” She grinned at him and tried to move his arms with hers so that she could at least pretend that he was dancing with her. Pretend that she was having some sort of fun.

“Daniels, why are you doing this? Intoxication is not a good idea to do,” he warned and she just shrugged to herself with a giggle erupting from her lips. She didn’t really seem to have any care in the world.

“I’m dancing! I feel free and it’s great!” she answered finally and stopped for a second so that she could look towards Walter properly. Her hair was slightly messy, makeup smudged, and eyes slightly puffy.

Walter frowned slightly and observed her face. She hadn’t worn makeup for a while, so he was glad that she was putting in that effort again. Glad that she managed to have done something that might make her feel better. It was the puffy eyes that he was concerned with.

“You’ve been crying,” he stated simply and she stopped for a moment. Her eyes met his, and she suddenly lost the partying façade, and her face crumpled. Him stating that she had been upset, was what caused her to start crying again.

Walter wasn’t entirely sure what he could do. He had never dealt with a drunk woman before, and didn’t know that the emotional state of most could run quite highly. They’ll be fine one second and then completely breakdown the next.

Daniels fell to the floor in a heap, sitting with her knees hugged close to her chest and just started to cry even more. Walter knelt down in front of her and observed her for a few seconds, before reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder, his kind eyes urging her to tell him what was wrong.

“Today would have been mine and Jake’s anniversary,” Daniels finally confessed in a whisper and sniffled to herself, shaking her head and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “I wanted to have one drink to celebrate but, then I just kept drinking and now…” she sighed and bit her lip slightly, having no idea how to finish her sentence.

“I’m very sorry Daniels. I didn’t know, and I should have stopped you from drinking so much but, I was more focused on the outside,” he told her and she just shook her head in return. She didn’t want him to feel like that at all.

“You didn’t know because I didn’t tell you. It’s my own fault that I got like this,” she told him and sighed, staring forward before turning her gaze towards him. She inched slightly closer and looked him straight in the eyes, heart hammering against her chest.

Could she really be attracted to Walter? Could that have happened when she had only recently lost Jacob and was still in that grieving state? She wasn’t sure. All that she knew was that Walter was kind to her, he was attractive and caring. Walter was someone that she seemed to have grown fond of in a very short space of time.

“Walter, I-” she started but, was soon interrupted by the sudden urge to be sick. Standing up fast, Daniels rushed over towards the sink just in time to throw up from the different mixes of alcohol in her system.

She stood over the sink, shaking slightly and gripping the counter as some tears started to fall. In was an involuntary reaction to being sick, she knew that and she hated that Walter was seeing her like this.

The angel took a bottle of water from the fridge, and came over to Daniels. He rubbed her back gently and placed the bottle into her hands as she took a couple of swigs to wash the sick taste out of her mouth.

“Sleep,” he told her and she just nodded, heading into the bedroom and basically passing out when she got into the bed. Walter made sure that she was in a safe position, placing a washing up basin by her bed and the water bottle with a couple of aspirins on the bedside table.

 

He left her to sleep and went back into the living room so that he could tidy up the cabin. He threw the bottles into a black bin bag, before going to clean out the sink. Making sure that Daniels had a clean place to live in was something he thought would make her happy.

Once everything was clean, he looked towards the bedroom door and sighed to himself. He had grown to like Daniels. He had grown to care for her more than it just being his duty. He supposed that Daniels was quite attractive but, he also knew that he wouldn’t be able to ever tell her that sort of thing. She didn’t treat him like he was just there to make her feel better. She treated him as though he was a friend. Something that he had never experienced before.

Daniels slept peacefully, arm curling around the pillow to hold close to her as her brain filled her dreams with images of mostly just little shapes here and there. Until Walter’s face drifted by in her dreams. Until she was standing at the edge of the lake with Walter in her head. Her hand in his, and then a soft kiss shared between the two of them.

 

The image was soon ripped from her head as she woke in the morning by a loud knocking on her front door and a pounding to match in her head. She quickly swallowed the aspirin and a mouthful of water before pulling on a robe, and heading towards the front door.

She blinked when she was met with a hooded figure who looked straight towards her, or so she assumed since she couldn’t see his face.

“Am I right to believe that this is where I will find a man that goes by the name of Walter?” the man spoke, not even attempting to make any other kind of greeting towards Daniels, who was still in a hungover state.

“You’re looking for Walter? Who exactly are you?” she questioned and frowned as she looked towards him with an almost suspicious look to her face.

“My name is David. I am his brother of sorts,” the man answered and stepped inside without any invitation, removing his hood to reveal a longer haired, blonde version of the angel that Daniels had grown used to. “I’m an angel like him and heard that he had been sent to earth.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look David is finally in the fic! Honestly I was trying for ages to think of how to introduce him, and what better way to get him there than when Daniels is hungover? You'll learn some more about David in the next chapter


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Walter and Daniels try to find out why David has arrived there with them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I got Covenant on DVD so hopefully I'll get more motivation for this fic again

Daniels wasn’t even sure what was happening anymore. She had only just gotten used to Walter being around. She didn’t know why another angel had even turned up. He looked older than Walter somehow. Didn’t look like he properly looked after himself anyway. She couldn’t help but, wonder just how long that he had been on Earth.

She sat on her couch, staring over at the crackling fire before Walter came over towards her and observed her for a few seconds before taking the seat next to her. David had gone outside, observing the scenery and wildlife.

“This David, I believe that he was sent to Earth before me. I heard about it. To comfort an Elizabeth Shaw,” he mentioned and looked towards Daniels. “I know not what happened to her but, I can only presume that she died. An angel will go back to their previous home once their work is done,” he explained.

“Elizabeth Shaw?” Daniels repeated and bit her lip slightly. “She was a doctor. A scientist. Very famous in our college. Everybody knew her name. The last that I heard, she died,” she explained with a slight quiver to her voice. “Is meeting David like meeting a distant relative?” she couldn’t help but ask and looked curiously to Walter.

“It’s like meeting a distant you,” he answered and looked outside. “Perhaps I should speak to him. Brother to brother?” he tilted his head to the side slightly and Daniels just nodded in agreement. “I won’t be long,” he assured her, and reached out to squeeze her shoulder gently before walking outside.

She watched him go until he was out of sight before looking towards the fire again. Even the smallest touch from Walter set her senses off. She wasn’t sure what it was about him, and she knew that she was still grieving Jacob but, Walter relaxed her. Walter understood her and saw her in a way that not even Jacob could see her.

She sighed and stood up to make herself some coffee. She couldn’t be attracted to Walter. It would be disloyal to Jacob whom her heart still yearned for, and it would be strange. Walter wasn’t human. Though he did look human and she did have to wonder if he had all the parts of a human being. No. She couldn’t let her mind wander. Couldn’t let any fantasies come into her head. He would have to leave her soon, and then she would be left to deal with that by herself. She could move on. Find someone else. Or live alone. She didn’t know yet.

Sipping from the coffee mug, she closed her eyes and tried to relax. She wasn’t sure if she even trusted David. Didn’t know what he had come here for. How he had heard about Walter coming to Earth and what he even wanted from him. She didn’t know what it was about him that was so different.

He looked like Walter. Sounded like Walter. And yet, he was so different. When Walter was kind and caring, David seem dark and mysterious. He seemed dangerous. While Walter was a calming lake, David was a rabid fire. Even if she had only seen him for less than a minute, Daniels knew that David was someone different, and she knew which angel that she preferred.

 

David stood out by the water, eyes closed as Walter approached him. The blonde angel turned to face his brother and offered a warm smile.

“Walter. You are most likely wondering why I have come here?” he asked gently and tilted his head to the side, curious of what Walter’s reaction would be. He watched him like a snake watched a mouse, closely with some menace in his eyes.

“I was not expecting to see another angel is all,” Walter answered. “The woman that you were looking over died am I right? May I inquire as to what happened to her?”

“Elizabeth Shaw,” David started and let his gaze fall slightly, a glint of sadness in his eye. There was some connection there. Some warmth. The first time that David had shown some warmth in him since he had arrived.

“I was sent to her after the tragic loss of her husband. I kept her safe, made her happy but, that wasn’t enough. It didn’t stop her from dying,” he explained and looked towards Walter. “I do believe that I once loved her. The same as you love your Daniels.”

“I do not love Daniels. I am simply helping her,” Walter answered, restraining himself from looking back towards the cabin. Daniels was certainly important to him but, Walter had no idea how love felt. He didn’t know how to experience love.

“I have seen that look before brother and that look means love. It’s a dangerous but, wonderful thing. Love brings life,” David explained and turned so that he faced Walter properly now. “Love is what makes humans so happy. Their love can sometimes bring new life of course. However, love is their weakness. Their one weakness that causes them pain. It’s through love that you are here to see Daniels am I correct?”

“Daniels suffered through loss of someone that she deeply loved,” Walter confirmed. “She still loves him I think. Even though he is gone.”

“And you’re trying to make sure that she is happy? Thinking of things that will make her happy and looking after her. What is that if not love?” he tilted his head to the side slightly and watched Walter closely.

“Duty.”

“I see,” David nodded and without another word, headed back inside the house. He observed Daniels for a few seconds before heading towards her bathroom. There was a bond between her and Walter, he could see that. Something where she trusted him. He also noticed some things in the bathroom, empty whisky bottles, packets of pills that hadn’t even been opened. Little things that hinted to Daniels still not being over her husband.

Walter came back into the cabin and stood beside Daniels, watching her for a while as she finished the last bit of her coffee. He wasn’t sure what to make of David, but he didn’t want to do anything to have David hurt her. That was the last thing that he wanted.

“Hi Walter,” she spoke softly and looked towards him, eyes flicking down to his lips for a second before meeting his eyes. “What happened with David?”

“He spoke about the woman that he was supposed to be looking out for. Elizabeth Shaw. David told me that she died when he thought that she was growing better. She was in a similar situation to you,” he explained.

“You don’t have to worry about me doing anything to myself if that’s what you’re worried about Walter,” she assured him with a small smile on her face. That was the last thing that she wanted to do. Didn’t want him to worry about her at least. She knew that Jacob wouldn’t want her to do anything to herself.

“I am glad. It should never be the answer and I hope that I am making you happier. Or at least less alone,” Walter mentioned and just watched for her reaction.

Daniels looked up towards the angel and nodded once with a slight smile pulling at her lips. For some reason, she had been happier now that Walter was around. 

“I’m happier. I still miss Jake. I miss him every day,” she sighed and shrugged slightly. “I do wish that I could have him back but, having someone around makes things easier somehow. I know that I spiralled yesterday but, you know. It was our anniversary and I didn’t know how to handle it.”

“Many humans feel the need to drink alcoholic beverages when they are upset. Perhaps it’s best if we disposed of the alcohol in your house,” Walter suggested and Daniels took a moment.

She chewed on her bottom lip and waited for a moment until she just nodded slowly. It had been a while since she had agreed to get rid of alcohol. It was her one escape. The one thing that would numb the pain. Well, that and the weed.

“Yeah. Getting rid of the alcohol is probably a good idea Walter,” she agreed and went to the cupboards, starting to take out every bottle that she could get her hands on. Wanting everything to go now that she had her mind on it.

“This is a good thing Daniels. I know that it will,” Walter assured her and she just nodded before dumping all of the bottles into a bin bag. “Take things one step at a time and everything will be just fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, leave any comments and kudos that you can


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniels learns more about what angels are like and what happened to Elizabeth Shaw

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to make this chapter longer, and I was also going to add in a cheeky little Doctor Who quote, but decided these things are best left until a later chapter.

She could do this. She could remain sober. Maybe. She was at least sleeping better without so much alcohol in her system, and seemed to have some more colour in her cheeks. David was still around though, and that made her tense. She didn’t know why. There was just something about him that churned all the bad feelings in her.

She actively avoided going near him, he spent most of his days out by the lake. Somewhere that was supposed to be special to her. It was her damn lake. Nobody else’s. Not now that Jake was gone. She couldn’t just sit there and watch someone else stand by it. She didn’t even know what he was doing half the time.

She sat on her sofa, hand fiddling with the nail on a string around her neck. It had been something that Jacob kept, something he had salvaged once from some old wreckage that he had gone exploring in. He always had liked that kind of thing. He was the one that knew all the right ways to build the log cabin. He would constantly show Daniels different pictures of different cabins, explaining each one and how he would design theirs. When he spoke about the cabin, she just smiled, her head against his shoulder and listened. She never once wanted to interrupt what he had to say when he spoke about his dream.

“Daniels,” Walter’s voice broke her out of her daydream, and she looked up towards him with a curious look. “Is everything alright? You look as though you’re in a world of your own.”

“I’m okay Walter,” she nodded in confirmation and just let the nail in her hand drop.

He looked towards the nail, and then to her with a slight head tilt to the side. He didn’t want to force her to say anything that she wasn’t comfortable with but, he wanted to at least be able to help somehow.

“It’s silly. I don’t even know why I’ve still got this,” Daniels spoke and looked towards the nail again before meeting Walter’s gaze. “Jake used to go to these torn down buildings, mostly to help out with all the heavy lifting and then one day he came home with this nail. We just kept it.”

“It holds some sentiment,” Walter stated and offered a reassuring smile to her. “Something that was once special to him, so that you can remember him. It’s a good thing. You’re able to remember him this way rather than just forget about him. Nobody should have to forget about the person that they love.”

“I wasn’t ready for him to leave.”

“Nobody ever is. We can never be prepared for someone that we care about to leave,” Walter explained and reached out to move some hair from her eyes. She accepted the gesture and just smiled slightly. She didn’t know if this was just what he was supposed to say, or if he was being kind genuinely. She just knew that she appreciated it.

“You always know what to say,” she observed softly.

“It’s all part of my moral code and I suppose you could say programming.”

“No, it’s not,” she shook her head. She didn’t believe that he was programmed to be like this. Didn’t believe that this was all because he had been told that he had to do everything by someone in higher power.

Walter watched her for a few seconds, eyes taking in every part of her, the tiniest shine in her eyes that was growing brighter every day, her soft hair, and her lips that were curving into a smile. She smiled so much more these days, and he was happy that he had been the one to bring that smile. Happy that she was happy.

She locked her eyes with him for a moment, just watching. Waiting. What she was waiting for, she had no idea but, this was Walter. Someone that she barely knew, yet she had grown so fond of him. She had grown to care for him. To have gotten to the point where she had almost forgotten that he was an angel. He felt human to her.

She hadn’t realised herself shifting closer to him, their breathing in sync as she just watched his face. Searching for any sign of comfort, any sign of care or devotion. She only realised how close she was to him when she heard footsteps entering the room and she jumped back. The maybe moment dissolving into the air.

“I do believe Daniels, that you are wary of my arrival here. I mean you no harm,” David’s voice spoke as he watched his brother and the human. Something that he recognised from when he had been sent to watch over Elizabeth.

“Why haven’t you ever been able to go home David?” Daniels looked up towards him with a curious look in her eye. Not the same curiosity that she often watched Walter with. This one was more of a nervous caution. Something that she knew she was to be wary of.

“My dear Elizabeth Shaw took her own life. I didn’t fulfil what was asked of me. Therefore, I was sentenced to remain on Earth.”

“You know that she took her own life as a fact? Only, they never found a body. When she was missing, police and doctors they searched everywhere and nobody anywhere could find a body. All that they found was some sort of plaque, with her name carved into it. In the gardens.”

“Yes. I thought it best to have buried her in the gardens. Somewhere that life still blooms,” David explained. “They never thought to disturb the makeshift grave. That is where she remains,” he spoke, with a pain to his voice.

“I see,” Daniels nodded and looked to Walter, wanting to make some eye contact to see if he had believed David or not. Walter however was watching his twin with some curiosity. The way that David spoke about Elizabeth. It was clear that he loved her. Clear that he had cared a great deal for her.

“Unfortunately, my efforts in attempting to help Dr Shaw move on, and be happier did not work. She seemed happier for a while but, everything came crashing down again. She suffered terrible nightmares you see,” David went on to explain. “One thing that I couldn’t fight against. Nightmares. Humans being able to be fully alive, yet so trapped in their own creation.”

Daniels shifted uneasily. She had suffered her fair share of nightmares since Jacob had died. The ones that she had, had when she was a child about monsters and werewolves seemed positively pitiful compared to having the image of the burning house playing over and over.

“Angels don’t dream?” she asked him, looking between him and Walter.

“We cannot sleep,” Walter answered before David could, hoping that she would find more comfort in his words than in David’s. “We are not capable of sleep; therefore, we cannot dream. We cannot create images inside our heads in that way. Whether they are memories or something new. Dreaming is a very human quality.”

“Creation is a very human quality. Humans have an entire belief system that their entire world was created. They hold onto this faith, to keep them going,” David stated. “Although the human system is flawed. There are so many different beliefs. How do we know which is true? Or if in fact any are true at all. Nobody can be too sure.”

Daniels bit her lip slightly. She knew that Oram was a firm Christian. He had told people that he had seen the Devil as a child. Nobody ever argued against him. They let him have his belief. Let him hold onto that faith.

“How are angels born if not created?” Daniels frowned slightly, wanting to know more. From either of the angels in front of her.

“Alas, that is one question that we do not know the answer to. Myself and Walter, simply woke up and that is all that we know. We have no childhood, no aging system. We simply remain like this forever.”

“So, you’re immortal?”

“Not quite. We can die, but we cannot grow old. We may only die if someone kills us. We do not die of old age, or from as some appliances on Earth do, of a dead battery so to speak,” David explained once again.

“It is why angels are forbidden to fall in love,” Walter told Daniels. “We don’t grow old. We cannot grow old, and never will,” he answered softly.

“Oh.”

She chewed on her bottom lip for a few seconds. She wasn’t sure what was lonelier. Being a human and having someone that you love to die before you, as she had suffered. Or being immortal and watching everyone that you love to die one by one.

Walter said nothing more, and just watched his human companion as she gathered her thoughts. David remained where he was, icy stare fixed on Daniels. She was completely vulnerable he observed. Most humans were. Fully capable of taking her own life, or someone else killing her. All it took was a second. One decision changed everything. It was one decision that had changed everything for Elizabeth. One decision and she was dead. One decision and David was holding her in his arms as she bled out, staining his memories as well as his hands forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comment and kudos are much appreciated! I'm having so much fun with this AU and I seriously love writing David. He's such a fun character to write, and has all these complexities. Walters just a cute little bunny rabbit and David is this enigma. 
> 
> Be sure to find me on social media if you want to drop me a message
> 
> Twitter- @tinascamanderss  
> Instagram- heartofasloth  
> Tumblr (though I don't use this account as much)- porcupinegoldstein


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Walter comforts Daniels, and almost confesses something to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally another chapter yay! Honestly, I have an ending in mind but, I don't know exactly how I'm going to get rid of David, so stay tuned!

What David had said, had chilled Daniels down to the bone. She actively tried to avoid him now, wondering when he was going to finally leave her house. When he was going to stop tainting her perfect log cabin.

She knew that he didn’t eat and from what she understood, he didn’t sleep. He simply stayed outside most of the time. It stopped her from venturing out there. Stopped her from going out there to get high.

Walter divided his time, sometimes going to speak with David and what his experience protecting someone was like and what he could do to ensure that Daniels never felt like there was no way out, and then spending some time with Daniels. To say he was fond of her was an understatement but, he had pushed those feelings aside. He couldn’t have those sorts of feelings. He was merely there to serve.

 

One day, Daniels was sitting by the fire and just throwing a scrap bit of paper in there every now and then as she watched the flames. Winter was getting closer and she knew that she was going to have to keep warm. Walter would have made her do it anyway, so she was taking it upon herself to beat him to it when it came to look after her.

Walter stepped inside, kicking the snow off of his boots and watched the woman for a few seconds. He smiled softly, glad that she was able to care for herself and not grow cold but, the smile was soon replaced with a frown when he walked over.

She was expressionless, no light in her eyes and no smile, as she just threw more paper into the flames. Walter wanted to ask what the paper was but, he knew that it wouldn’t be anything too important. What he caught a glimpse of just seemed to look like old shopping lists and receipts from stores.

The flames danced on her face and he just watched her for a couple of seconds before taking a seat opposite to her. She looked straight at him and her hands stopped throwing paper for a second as she just took him in.

“How are you feeling Daniels?” Walter asked. Something that he asked her every day, just to see what kind of day she was having. Sometimes they were good, sometimes they were bad. It all depended on if that day had any significance.

“Numb,” she answered softly and looked to the flames again. “Surely fire should burn, right? Well, when I touch it, it just seems to feel like it freezes me,” she explained and ran a hand through her hair.

“You’ve not…” Walter started, and then he spotted the burn on her hand. He had no idea how she wasn’t in pain with it, or if she was then she was extremely good at hiding it. His protective instinct kicked in straight away though, and he jumped up to get something to soothe the burn.

“It’s supposed to hurt,” she mentioned with a quake in her voice. “It’s supposed to burn, and I’m supposed to feel something! I want the fire back Walter, I just want it back!” she looked to him, and her eyes started to water slightly. “I want to feel something that isn’t just a numbness.”

“You will. It takes time,” Walter told her and moved forward to reach for her shoulder, in some attempt to comfort her.

“How long? I’m fed up with waiting! You don’t even know what this is like! You can’t feel anything, and you just tell me that it’s going to get better! That I’m going to feel something again. I want to feel something now Walter!” she yelled at him, and moved away from his hand.

“I’m sorry,” Walter answered softly. He was a little taken aback by her sudden outburst but, he still wanted to help. He wanted to do anything that he could that meant that Daniels would feel better. With a sigh, he just watched her again. “We do feel things though. Angels. We just don’t act upon certain feelings.”

“That must be so lonely,” Daniels muttered and hugged her knees to her chest like a child that had suffered through a nightmare. “I don’t want you to be lonely Walter.”

“I’m not lonely. I have you,” he answered and offered a smile to her.

“But what happens when I’m okay again? What happens when you’ve made me better? Helped me recover?” she looked at him with a sniffle.

“Then I must leave but, I’ll be okay because I will have helped you. It won’t be a bad thing,” he explained and reached out to touch her shoulder again, this time with her accepting the physical contact.

“I don’t want you to go…” she told him and shook her head. “I don’t want you to leave me, I want you to stay with me. Forever,” she looked at him with big, sad, brown eyes and sniffled. He noticed the tears filling up in them and he sighed.

“I can’t do that Daniels. I’m sorry. If I were to stay forever, it wouldn’t work out. Angels don’t age, they just keep on living. Humans wither, and they die. Imagine watching that happen to someone you…” he started but, cut himself off. He couldn’t say it. Couldn’t make any confession.

“Someone you what Walter?” Daniels asked softly and prompted him to tell her more, eyebrow quirking up in question.

“You can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can’t spend the rest of mine with you,” Walter continued, not bringing up what he almost had beforehand. “It’s a curse really, and I couldn’t do that Daniels. I can’t watch you die.”

She nodded slowly with a sniff, a lump forming in her throat as she looked towards the floor, chin resting on top of her knees.

“I understand,” she whispered and wiped her eyes with one hand, not looking towards Walter again. Not after that. What she wanted, wouldn’t be able to happen. It wasn’t possible, and she knew that. Deep down, she knew that it was completely stupid to develop any kind of feelings for someone who wouldn’t die. Though maybe that was why she liked him. He wouldn’t die. He wouldn’t die like Jacob had. He’d live, and then they could have a life together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are two references in this chapter. One to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and one to Doctor Who. See if you can figure out what they are


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniels finds something out and Walter tries to help her out with advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter because I felt like this was winding down and I didn't want to separate different things so I decided that I would finish things here.

Walter had left Daniels by herself, seeking out David once again. He found the other angel stood out by the now frozen lake, snow caught in his hair.

“Walter. You’ve come to speak with me about a moment that you have just shared with Daniels. Am I correct?” he asked, keeping his gaze straight towards the lake.

“I have. How exactly did you cope with the feelings that you had for Doctor Shaw?” Walter tilted his head to the right and stepped towards his brother. He was desperate to know some answers and couldn’t help but, grow more and more curious the longer that David had been around.

“That was most unfortunate,” David explained softly. “Elizabeth did not return my affections. While she was everything for me, I was merely nothing for her,” he answered and let out a slight sigh. “She never could get over her husband’s death.”

“How can I ensure to make sure that Daniels does not do as Doctor Shaw had done? Ensure that she still lives her life.”

“I do not have the answer for that,” David finally looked towards Walter at this moment and stepped towards him. “Human minds are complex and sometimes they feel that the easiest way to end their pain is to end themselves. It’s tragic, and should never be done. Emotions and feelings can be difficult. Especially for a lifeform as simple as human.”

Walter nodded slowly. He let his hands come to rest in his pockets as he just looked towards the lake instead of David. He couldn’t begin to imagine the pain that Daniels must be feeling, and he hated that he had almost confessed his feelings for her.

From what he understood, David had confessed his own feelings towards Elizabeth and then she had taken her own life, rather than return the affection and try to move on with someone that would love her.

He knew that it must have been hard for the both of them, and he truly hoped that Daniels would not take her own life. Truly hoped that she would be able to be happier. He knew of course, that the sadness would still linger. He just hoped that it wouldn’t engulf her.

“I do not see the same loss of hope in Daniels as I saw in Elizabeth,” David spoke again when he noticed his brother’s face had screwed up in a frown. “You are doing your job correctly and I do not believe that she is going to hurt herself.”

Walter nodded again but, still remained silent. His eyes were fixed on the lake, the ice and the coldness. The same ice that felt like was in Daniels’ life before he arrived. The ice that he had melted away.

“If you truly love Daniels, you must tread carefully. She has suffered a terrible loss and although I believe that she is certainly fond of you, I don’t know what it will do to her if she knew of your feelings. Especially when you won’t age.”

“The last thing that I would want is for Daniels to be saddened by this all. She already has suffered like you’ve said. I don’t want to make her suffer even more,” Walter answered and just looked towards the floor again, kicking the snow slightly.

David watched Walter for a few seconds before walking towards the lake slowly. He sighed and just shook his head once.

“There is nothing worse than seeing someone that you care about in pain. I knew that when I was around Elizabeth. I would never want anyone else to suffer that pain, and now that she is dead, she isn’t able to join me.”

Walter looked towards David confused for a second before the other man simply walked away, hands in his pockets so that he was more alone with his thoughts than staying to stop and talk to Walter.

The angel just watched his brother for a few seconds before, walking back inside and finding Daniels propped up on the sofa with her I-Pad in her hands, concentration filling her face. He walked over slowly and stopped when he was in front of her.

“Daniels? Is everything okay?” he asked her softly and just sat down on the sofa to look at her curiously.

“I’ve been doing some research,” she answered him and waved him over to look at the I-Pad screen. “I was looking up Dr Shaw. I was a little suspicious of what David had told us, and it says here that she was found dead in her living room,” she explained.

“What is strange about that?” Walter frowned slightly.

“Well, it states that they found a suicide note but, it wasn’t her handwriting and where the wound was… it couldn’t have been done through suicide so, I think that she was murdered,” Daniels explained and just looked to Walter with a worried look taking over her face. “I think that David killed her.”

“Very good Daniels,” David’s voice sounded. Daniels and Walter looked up towards the voice and saw David standing in the doorway, watching them both with a stone-cold glare before, he stepped into the room.

“Now, don’t mistake this for a cold-blooded murder,” he told them both and just kept his eyes fixed on the two of them. “I was in love with Elizabeth. That part is true. I faked her suicide and killed her because I thought that she would be able to join me. I wanted to be with her. That’s why I haven’t gone home. That’s why I am stuck here,” he explained.

“How could you? Even if you love someone… you can’t just do something like that,” Daniels shook her head in disbelief and stared at him.

“Oh, and you didn’t think of ending things yourself so that you could be with your precious Jacob again?” David bit back, venom in his voice.

“Enough David,” Walter answered before Daniels got the chance and stood in front of her. “Get out of here and get out of our lives. I won’t let you do what you did to Elizabeth to Daniels.”

“Careful Walter. If you have those similar feelings, then you might just do the same. People do crazy things when they’re in love,” he answered and felt a smirk tug at his face as Daniels just looked up to Walter in concern.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Didn’t she know?” David raised an eyebrow and just watched Walter as the other angel took a couple of seconds to react. Walter moved forward and pushed David out of the door, a threatening look taking over his face.

“Take a step back David. Neither of us want you here, not if you’re going to hurt Daniels,” he told his brother to which David just smirked at the other angel.

Daniels stood and watched them both. Her heart hammered against her chest as she just watched them for a couple of seconds. They stood facing each other in silence. David fixing Walter with an icy glare, and Walter just staring him down.

“You can’t hurt me Walter. You’re too weak,” David spoke with malice and just stared at Walter. The other angel’s face twitched slightly as he pushed David outside into the snow.

Daniels ran over to the door as both angels seemed to be wrestling in the snow. Punches being flown as she couldn’t even tell which of them it was that was winning, or which one was which either.

The angels both stood after a while, one by the edge of the lake and the other looming towards him. With one final push, the one closer to the lake fell and stumbled backwards onto the ice. He stopped for a second, looking straight towards his brother before he heard a loud crack.

Looking down towards his feet, he saw the ice around him start to crack and before he even had a chance to react, it split, and he fell through, not resurfacing and sinking straight to the bottom, eyes closing and skin turning icy and blue as he took his last breath.

 

Daniels ran out towards the remaining angel and just stared for a couple of seconds, breathing deeply as she looked up with hope in her eyes.

“Walter? That is, you isn’t it?” she asked softly and sniffled.

“It is. To prove it Daniels, I know that the first time that we met, you had been smoking and you thought that you were hallucinating because you were high. It’s me. I promise,” he told her softly and just offered her a warm smile.

Daniels threw herself at him, arms wrapping around his neck as she nuzzled into the side of his neck with a sad smile on her face.

“I love you,” she whispered and held onto him tighter as she just moved her head back and looked towards him, watching his face as it changed from confusion to a smile. He stepped towards her again and reached out to stroke her cheek gently.

“I’m happy. I didn’t think that I would be happy again,” she confessed and brought her hand up to run through his hair.

Walter was about to speak again when a light came from nowhere. He looked from Daniels to the light and let out a little sigh. He moved his head down and looked towards her again, eyes filling with tears.

“I have to leave,” he told her and held onto her hands as she just looked up to him in alarm.

“No. You can’t go Walter. You can’t leave. I want you to stay,” she told him with a shaky voice as she held on tightly to his hands.

“You’ll be okay without me Daniels. How could I watch you grow old and die, and how could you watch me live and never age a day? I won’t forget you but, I can’t stay,” he told her and squeezed her hand before letting go and stepping backwards towards the light.

“Walter… wait,” she whispered and he looked to her one last time before shaking his head and stepping back into the light before disappearing forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all the people who kept up with this fic! I really enjoyed writing it, and I really loved writing for the Alien fandom especially with this ship. 
> 
> If you want to keep up to date with other fics, I do write for the Fantastic Beasts fandom and am planning my next fic for that fandom involving Newt and Tina with a Royal AU.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you guys think so far! Much love


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